Spring 2018 Jingmai Moonlight White

Natural tea gardens from Jingmai mountain Picked in April 2018, 1 bud/3 leaves Shade-dried on withering mats for two days in our tea factory 200g white tea cakes After intense Pu-erh tea making in March and early April 2018, we had room available in our factory to make white tea. We gathered all the flat bamboo baskets we could and laid some of our last early spring pickings on them. The material used comes from the natural tea gardens located on the top of Jingmai mountain and comes from the second and third flush. The leaves dried for two to three days in the shade of our factory, below the family house. The relatively low humidity of early Spring allowed the leaves to dry in an average of two days. No further process is required to make Yunnan Moonlight White, the water escapes the leaves by contact with the ambient air. Unlike our previous white tea production, we used a coarse 1 bud/3 leaves grade to make this tea. Finer grades are usually preferred when making white tea because the buds turn silvery and give a beautiful aspect to the dry leaves, we opted for a bad look and a great taste. Using coarse leaves gives more sweetness and a thicker mouthfeel, that's what we like. Since no kill-green process or high-temperature drying was involved, the leaves retain their ability to oxidize. They do so much faster than in a Pu-erh tea, therefore the tea brews an orange soup and the leaves will turn dark red within five years or so. A couple of years makes wonders on white tea, we planned to keep this one in storage before releasing it, but it turns out it has already developed a complex range of aromas right after pressing. Good fragrance is a strong point for white tea, but this one also has a decently thick mouthfeel, that will satisfy a Pu-erh tea drinker. As usual for white tea, no bitterness is present here, only sweetness and complex fragrance. Such a tea can be enjoyed by anybody and cannot really be over-brewed. It is pleasant in Gongfu style or brewed in a mug.